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Mike Price
Joined: 06 Jun 2008
Posts: 2919
Location: South Wales
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 1:39 pm
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| imagist wrote: | Hello,
Under U.S. Tax Law, Shutterstock is a Withholding Agent. As a Withholding Agent Shutterstock has to collect certain information from you and provide it to the US Government. In some cases, we are required, by law, to withhold a portion of earnings from Submitters who are not residents or citizens of the United States.
The country you reside in or pay taxes in may or may not have a tax treaty with the U.S. A complete list of Tax Treaty countries can be found on page 54 of this document:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf
If you are a non-U.S. resident or citizen and you reside in a country with a Tax Treaty, please follow this two-step process:
Step 1: File a Form W-7 with the IRS. The IRS will give you a U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) usually within four to six weeks. Complete instructions for filing of the Form W-7 can be found here:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf
Step 2: Once you have received your ITIN, you must complete and submit Form W-8 to Shutterstock.
If you have an ITIN already, please wait for the online form to be available on submit.shutterstock.com in order to submit your information to us electronically and securely. We will inform you by email when the electronic W-8 is available online.
We recognize that this is a complex process for many of you. We will work closely with you to help you complete your compliance paperwork. We will also notify you by email before any taxes are actually withheld for the first time. Withholding will be at treaty rates provided that you represent to us that you are in the process of completing all necessary paperwork.
Here is one easy example of a non-U.S. resident Submitter tax scenario: A Submitter is based in the UK. The UK has a tax treaty withholding requirement of 0%. If the UK Submitter provides a completed W-8 form with an ITIN to Shutterstock, the withheld tax will be at the treaty rate of 0%. All non-U.S. resident Submitters will need to file this paperwork, even if you live in a 0% withholding rate treaty country. All taxes that are withheld are directly paid by Shutterstock to the IRS. Shutterstock does not receive any financial benefit at all from the withheld taxes.
If you are a citizen or resident of the United States living abroad: Please provide us with a signed, completed U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.
Again, we will notify you when the W-8 form is available on the Submit site. We ask that if you are in a tax treaty country you complete the W-7 application process for your ITIN as soon as possible.
Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this matter.
Best Regards,
Shutterstock Submit Support |
This is useful to say that you will not withhold providing we are in the process of completing paperwork. I have spoken to a notary in the UK today and he tells me it will take around 4 weeks to get the appostile for my passport from the Foreign and Commonwealth office. Then the W7 can be sent off which could take a further six weeks, then we need to send the W8 to SS. Therefore the quickest I can comply is around 10-12 weeks,
Mike |
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pdtnc
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 78
Location: UK - Leeds
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 2:22 pm
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Can someone from Shutterstock answer this?
Is the only postal address in the US??
Internal Revenue Service
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342
is there not an address that documents can be posted to in the UK?
Is it these - http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=111081,00.html
And do they charge any fees for this service?
Thanks |
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bobbigmac
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 129
Location: picNiche.com
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 2:47 pm
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| pdtnc wrote: | Can someone from Shutterstock answer this?
Is the only postal address in the US??
Internal Revenue Service
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342
is there not an address that documents can be posted to in the UK?
Is it these - http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=111081,00.html
And do they charge any fees for this service?
Thanks |
I'd like to know this too.
Also how do we (can we?) recoup the costs of notarisation and application with Shutterstock?
Also when can a signed hard-copy of the required letter to apply for ITIN be expected by people in the UK? |
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bobbigmac
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 129
Location: picNiche.com
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:37 pm
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Latest email from Shutterstock says:
| Quote: | | Some submitters have reported to us that IRS officials have said that the letter emailed by Shutterstock to you will not satisfy the requirement that you furnish “a signed letter or document from the withholding agent, on official letterhead, showing your name and account number, and evidencing that an ITIN is required to make distributions to you during the current tax year which are subject to IRS information reporting or federal tax withholding.” Some IRS officials appear to be claiming that the letter is not sufficient without a physical signature. While we have been advised that the letter provided will satisfy the IRS’ document requirement, we are in the process of investigating this issue further and hope to have an update for you next week. Until you have heard from us again, please do not submit your W-7 ITIN application. |
Thanks for making the effort to investigate this. As a result of the extra waiting time will the timeline before the first withheld amounts be delayed? |
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pdtnc
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 78
Location: UK - Leeds
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 1:16 am
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It all sounds messy to me... |
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overthehill
Joined: 22 Oct 2005
Posts: 43
Location: Manchester, UK
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 9:29 am
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Well I've seen someone on here say that you just need a solicitor to produce a certified copy of your passport for the IRS - cost at my local solictors £7.50 and I've also seen someone say it must be notarised - cost at a notary solicitor £40 to £50.
So which is it? Anyone know for sure? |
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bobbigmac
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 129
Location: picNiche.com
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 9:40 am
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| overthehill wrote: | Well I've seen someone on here say that you just need a solicitor to produce a certified copy of your passport for the IRS - cost at my local solictors £7.50 and I've also seen someone say it must be notarised - cost at a notary solicitor £40 to £50.
So which is it? Anyone know for sure? |
Best I can find out is that ideally (for IRS) you would need a 'certified' copy of your passport, issued by the issuing authority. Which would be the UK passport office. I've also read though that the passport office does not issue these.
This means the solutions available to UK contributors to get documentation are 1 of the following:
Either
a) Get a notarised copy of your passport (yes around £50-£60) or other suitable documents (which would also need to be notarised). Then send this to the Foriegn & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Milton Keynes for you notary-public to be authenticated (legalised). (At £34 charge)
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/docs-and-legal-services/legalisation/by-post
OR
b) Get a notarised copy of your passport (yes around £50-£60) or other suitable documents (which would also need to be notarised). Then TAKE this to the US embassy in London Park Lane to be checked by an IRS delegate there. (I can't find out whether notarisation is required for this stage). |
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overthehill
Joined: 22 Oct 2005
Posts: 43
Location: Manchester, UK
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 9:56 am
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| bobbigmac wrote: | | overthehill wrote: | Well I've seen someone on here say that you just need a solicitor to produce a certified copy of your passport for the IRS - cost at my local solictors £7.50 and I've also seen someone say it must be notarised - cost at a notary solicitor £40 to £50.
So which is it? Anyone know for sure? |
Best I can find out is that ideally (for IRS) you would need a 'certified' copy of your passport, issued by the issuing authority. Which would be the UK passport office. I've also read though that the passport office does not issue these.
This means the solutions available to UK contributors to get documentation are 1 of the following:
Either
a) Get a notarised copy of your passport (yes around £50-£60) or other suitable documents (which would also need to be notarised). Then send this to the Foriegn & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Milton Keynes for you notary-public to be authenticated (legalised). (At £34 charge)
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/docs-and-legal-services/legalisation/by-post
OR
b) Get a notarised copy of your passport (yes around £50-£60) or other suitable documents (which would also need to be notarised). Then TAKE this to the US embassy in London Park Lane to be checked by an IRS delegate there. (I can't find out whether notarisation is required for this stage). |
Not really worth it for me in time, cost or effort. I might take a chance on the £7.50 option and see what happens but I'm not messing about with the rest |
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BritishBeef
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 32
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 10:32 am
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I think I may be really stupid as all these is extremely confusing to me. Even after reading these posts I have absolutely no idea how to go about sorting this out. How come I have not been asked to do this by the other 3 agencies I'm with? If it's going to cost me the best part of £100 to do it then I don't think it's worth the hassle. If someone really could explain the process and what these terms (ie. notary etc.) mean then it'd be appreciated. |
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overthehill
Joined: 22 Oct 2005
Posts: 43
Location: Manchester, UK
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 10:41 am
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| BritishBeef wrote: | | I think I may be really stupid as all these is extremely confusing to me. Even after reading these posts I have absolutely no idea how to go about sorting this out. How come I have not been asked to do this by the other 3 agencies I'm with? If it's going to cost me the best part of £100 to do it then I don't think it's worth the hassle. If someone really could explain the process and what these terms (ie. notary etc.) mean then it'd be appreciated. |
This was posted somewhere else (can't remember which thread there are that many). The question I asked was whether simple certification is enough or whether it needs to be notarised
[color=red]
Advice for those in the UK
1) Raise the payout limit on SS to a high value to prevent payouts being made (and withold tax deducted) until you have all the paperwork completed and returned.
2) Take your passport to a solicitor and ask them to make a certified copy suitable for sending to the IRS in the USA. This should cost between £6-£10.
3) Download and complete form W7 from the IRS.
3a) Tick reasons a and h
3b) For reason h enter the text 'Exception 1d - Third party witholding tax on passive income royalties (royalties on photographic sales)
3c) The treaty article number is 12
3d) You must enter 'N/A' on any line that you don't need to fill in - don't leave them blank
3e) In line 6b enter your National Insurance number
Post the printed form, certified passport copy, and letter from ShutterStock to the IRS.
[/color] |
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themightyshrub
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Posts: 943
Location: www.heathergreig.co.uk
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 10:42 am
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Has everybody here actually recieved the email from SS telling them about all this? I've read we should have had at least 2 (including one with a letter from SS that we need for this form) but I haven't recieved any emails at all |
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doppelklick
Moderator
Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 42
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 11:13 am
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| themightyshrub wrote: | | Has everybody here actually recieved the email from SS telling them about all this? I've read we should have had at least 2 (including one with a letter from SS that we need for this form) but I haven't recieved any emails at all |
If you have not received any emails, you can view the info and FAQ here:
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62243
A more detailed step-by-step guide will be posted next week.
-dk
Last edited by doppelklick on Sat May 30, 2009 4:14 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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themightyshrub
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Posts: 943
Location: www.heathergreig.co.uk
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 11:21 am
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| doppelklick wrote: | | themightyshrub wrote: | | Has everybody here actually recieved the email from SS telling them about all this? I've read we should have had at least 2 (including one with a letter from SS that we need for this form) but I haven't recieved any emails at all |
If you have not received any emails, you can view the emails here:
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62243
-dk |
Thanks for the quick reply, although I was under the impression that we also recieved an email that we needed to print out and attach to the W-7 form in order to claim for exception 1. Or is that the printed letter that we are meant to recieve (I haven't got that either, but if it was only sent this week, I'm not surprised it hasn't arrive yet) |
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pdtnc
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
Posts: 78
Location: UK - Leeds
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 11:54 am
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I've been emailing the other stock agencies, at least 1 of them are considering this IRS stuff, though I yet have to hear back from some of them conclusively.
If it turns out that more than 2 of the big 5 or 6 stock sites are going to be doing this I'll probably play ball... if its just SS and BSP, I'll just close my accounts.
| BritishBeef wrote: | | I think I may be really stupid as all these is extremely confusing to me. Even after reading these posts I have absolutely no idea how to go about sorting this out. How come I have not been asked to do this by the other 3 agencies I'm with? If it's going to cost me the best part of £100 to do it then I don't think it's worth the hassle. If someone really could explain the process and what these terms (ie. notary etc.) mean then it'd be appreciated. |
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abimages
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 29
Location: UK
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:38 pm
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| pdtnc wrote: | I've been emailing the other stock agencies, at least 1 of them are considering this IRS stuff, though I yet have to hear back from some of them conclusively.
If it turns out that more than 2 of the big 5 or 6 stock sites are going to be doing this I'll probably play ball... if its just SS and BSP, I'll just close my accounts.
| BritishBeef wrote: | | I think I may be really stupid as all these is extremely confusing to me. Even after reading these posts I have absolutely no idea how to go about sorting this out. How come I have not been asked to do this by the other 3 agencies I'm with? If it's going to cost me the best part of £100 to do it then I don't think it's worth the hassle. If someone really could explain the process and what these terms (ie. notary etc.) mean then it'd be appreciated. |
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Didn't someone say theres only 3 microstock agencies operating in the US? SS and two of the smaller ones I think. |
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